Virginia edges Wake Forest, remains atop ACC Coastal division

Simpson rushed for the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth
quarter Saturday as Virginia held on for a 17-16 victory over
21st-ranked Wake Forest in a pivotal Atlantic Coast Conference
contest.

It marked the fifth time this season that the Cavaliers (8-2,
5-1 ACC Coastal) won by two points or less - an NCAA record for
teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision.

"I'm happy to win and proud for the team for being able to do
that," Virginia coach Al Groh said.

The Demon Deacons had a chance to win this one, but Sam Swank
missed a 47-yard field goal as time expired.

"Everyone around our organization preaches the importance of not
cracking," Simpson added. "We know if we keep working hard and
playing until the final gun, we have a good chance of things
working out for us."

With the victory, Virginia remained atop the conference's
Coastal division, one-half game ahead of Virginia Tech (7-2,
4-1). The in-state rivals square off here on November 24 in a
game which likely will determine the division's representative
in the ACC championship game.

Two weeks ago, Simpson scored the game-winning TD with 16
seconds remaining to lift the Cavaliers to an 18-17 victory at
Maryland. The win came one week after a 17-16 triumph over
Connecticut.

Virginia's seven-game winning streak ended in disappointing
fashion last week, as North Carolina State rallied for a 29-24
victory. But the Cavaliers bounced back this week despite
squandering a 10-6 halftime lead.

"These two teams over the last two years have had more
last-minute finishes than any two other teams in the
conference," Groh said. "We showed a great deal of resiliency
and mental toughness throughout the course of the game."

Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner fired a 13-yard TD to
Kenneth Moore to make it 13-10 with 2:10 left in the third
quarter. Swank's 31-yard field goal five minutes into the
fourth quarter made it 16-10.

But Virginia re-claimed the lead with a 10-play, 56-yard drive
capped by Simpson's one-yard score with 2:18 remaining.

"It was a power run from one yard out, Ian (Yates Cunningham)
came around and got a great pulling block," Simpson said. "I
just waited for the hole to open up and cut back. From there, I
knew all I had to do was follow him into the end zone."

The Cavaliers prolonged the drive by converting a crucial
4th-and-3 from the Wake Forest 25, as Jameel Sewell completed an
11-yard pass to Maurice Covington.

"I definitely knew it was coming to me," Covington said. "The
play was designed to come to me so I just got to my area,
secured the ball, made sure I had it and then got down."

Skinner marched the Demon Deacons back down the field on the
ensuing drive, setting up Swank's 47-yard attempt. But the kick
sailed to the right of the upright, ending Wake Forest's
six-game winning streak.

"We felt like we were in (Swank's) range," Wake Forest coach Jim
Grobe said. "We would have certainly liked to get more from
those two runs we had. But from our perspective, that was easy
length for Sam."

"When the kicked missed, I was probably the happiest person in
the world," Sewell said. "After all we had been through during
that game, there is no feeling like coming out with a big win."

Simpson ran for just 34 yards on 17 carries. But the sophomore
hauled in eight receptions for 77 yards for the Cavaliers.

Sewell finished 20-of-43 for 225 yards and one TD - a 39-yard
strike to Covington with 10 seconds left in the first half.

Skinner completed 20-of-26 passes for 175 yards, a TD and an
interception for Wake Forest (6-3, 4-2 Atlantic), which has lost
20 of its last 21 meetings with Virginia.